See the Stars, Not the Light
by Raftina Rune
Summary: Lt. Thomas Richard Schubaltz here. I have been assigned on a mission to a town called Terkh. It was rebuilt after being destroyed years before and now some bandits are aiming to do some damage again. But I'll show them! Beek, let's go! ThomasOC
1. Chapter 1

Schala85: Since I've been slow in updating my Rokai story, I thought I'd start posting this story too to tide people over (all 4 of you XD). This fic has been put on a forum I tend to go to often, and so there is a good deal of background missing, but I've been trying to add in whatever's needed at that time. If you do have any questions, I will try to address them, whether by replying to your review or trying to stick information into the chapters. I don't own Zoids, nor any of the characters. However, I own Collins, Lauren, Night Striker, Remik, Joara, Aiden, Daniel, Terra, and the place Terkh. A friend of mine owns Nicodemus. I think the setting is about a year after the Death Stinger incident. I've tried hard to not make my main OC a Mary Sue, and I think I've done at least a decent job so far.

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"WHAT?" 

Van's bellow of surprise could be heard sounding throughout the base's hangar. He and Thomas were staring at the communications monitor in the room, Van wearing a shocked expression that held hints of disappointment. Thomas instead went from slight shock to irritation at Van's outburst, to giving a determined nod to the monitor. On that monitor was Karl's face, as this particular mission was oriented within Imperial territory. In short, Thomas was being sent on a mission alone, and Van wasn't a happy camper. The older Schubaltz looked a bit annoyed yet at Van's reaction, as it caused unpleasant noise on his end.

"You heard me, Lieutenant Fleiheit. Lieutenant Schubaltz is being sent to the coordinates I sent. He knows the area more then you," the colonel stated, his gaze going over towards his younger brother. "The area that the bandits have been attacking is the Terkh colony."

Thomas knew that the surprise on his face was plain. He should have known that the old colony would be re-built sooner or later, but it was still unexpected to actually hear the name of the colony again. No, it wasn't a large place, nor had he or Karl ever lived there. Though, they had visited often as children. The late General Remik and his wife Joara, who did live there, were friends of their father, and so of course they would see them often. He remembered Joara much more than he did Remik, though that was more then likely due to the fact that she treated him like he was her own child. He remembered that Joara border lined genius status when it came to zoids, and whenever she spotted Thomas working on something mechanical she would hug him (nearly tight enough to choke him!) and shower him with affection. Which, considering that Karl was usually the one to get any and all of the attention, he soaked it up without any complaints like a sponge. "Okay, I'll get my zoid ready to go," Thomas said, silently reminding himself to get supplies and such for the journey.

After a few more details about what had happened so far with the bandits, Karl ended the remote briefing and the communication's screen went blank. Once the screen lost all the light from the previous message, Van turned around and walked off. Thomas could almost have sworn the renowned hero was muttering under his breath, but who could blame him? The younger man had been wanting a mission like this for weeks, and instead of him getting it, Thomas was the one chosen to be dispatched. Either way, the blonde Lieutenant inwardly smiled to himself feeling good about this mission. With Beek and his Megalomax capability, those bandits won't stand a chance!

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It was merely a couple of days before he caught sight of the village. It was even smaller then he remembered it to be, though he wasn't surprised. Well over three quarters of the village's population had been killed that night years ago, with the others unaccounted for. It was his guess that it was the unaccounted survivors that rebuilt the place, and he wondered if he would recognize any of them. Would they recognize him? It had been about seven years after all. Actually, it was much longer then that, he was thinking of something else. There was only one way to find out, and that was to actually go inside. Once he got a bit closer, he noticed a zoid that he had never seen before. Yet, at the same time, it seemed strangely familiar. It was fully black, and what he determined to be like a feline, maybe a panther. What caught his attention were the structures on the back. He couldn't tell if they were folded wings or some whacky booster system or what, but they were certainly prominent. He had to see it up close. Of course he reasoned to himself that he should, being part of the Guardian Force he had to check it out as it could be used against him. Though deep down, he knew it was just the mechanical whiz in him that wanted to inspect it. 

Once he got close enough, he got out of his Dibison and looked around, the people that were in the village were too concerned with the market, and only a couple of them even looked at him. Not that there were many outside to start with, the village was too small for a lot of people to be moving about. Once he got over to the zoid, he looked it over and confirming that the structures on its back were indeed wings, with the booster on its back between them. The type of zoid eluded him, and he climbed up to the cockpit, and once the canopy opened he jumped inside. The controls were amazing! They had to be coded, for he didn't quite understand what control did what, aside from the booster controls being the same as a Shield or Blade Liger. It took his breath away, and he became determined that he was going to figure out everything. However, his concentration was broken by a voice.

"Scanning DNA..."

The blonde lieutenant's head popped up at hearing it. DNA scanning? What for? It made him feel quite uneasy.

"DNA found incompatible...ejecting now..."

With that said, Thomas found himself flying through the air with a yelp of surprise, making a very ungraceful landing on the sand. As he pulled himself up to brush off the sand, he noticed that it had been the moment that people started to notice that he was around. Though once they saw him, they appeared to know precisely what had happened and went back to their normal tasks, before he could even explain himself. He wasn't sure if he should've been thankful for that fact or completely embarrassed, but he didn't try to waste any time to check his Beek headpiece to make sure he hadn't gotten any sand in it before replacing it on the left side of his head.

While he was doing this, he hadn't noticed someone standing at the entrance of the Terkh. This young woman was wearing an Imperial officer's uniform, the rank denoting a second lieutenant, and she had obviously come out to see what had happened. Her eyes were fuchsia colored and her hair was for the most part a sky blue, though when the sun hit it right, you could see a metallic sheen coming from the strands, which were pulled back into a high pony tail. When she spotted Thomas, she was first concerned, then an expression of shock soon overtook it. Finally, anger took over a moment later and while she marched over to him she yelled, "Thomas Richard Schubaltz! I don't believe you just did that!"

The hair on the back of Thomas' neck stood on end as he heard the voice, as it was extremely familiar, and it wasn't a good sign at all. He looked to his right and saw the woman approaching him and a nervous chuckle escaped his throat. "H-hello, Lauren, it's so nice to see you after all of this time!" It was true, he hadn't seen her in nearly eight years. Though he knew she'd see right through anything he'd say. Lauren Starsword was one of the survivors, actually the only survivor that had been accounted for at that time. Which, that was only due to the fact that it was his father that had her under his care at the time being that she was Remik's child and she was visiting them. It was also due to that fact that she stayed with them for a little over six years before being taken to the Guylos capital. During that time they had nearly adopted her as part of the family. Or at least he and Karl had thought of her as the sister they never really had.

"You know better than to just climb into anyone's zoid," she said, eyeing him with that glare she had as she got right in front of him. She wasn't as tall as he remembered, but then again, he probably had grown quite a bit since they both last seen each other. "Especially being as adapt at machines as you are, you should have some respect!"

Thomas opened his mouth to speak but the words were lost once he felt something ram into him, for a moment. He looked down to see Lauren sitting on the sand, rubbing her shoulder. "Um, what are you doing?" he asked her, blinking.

It took her a second to look up at him, a bit pained. Though he was willing to bet it was more her pride than her arm. "You were unaffected by that. ...Time really has made you stronger," she said, looking much more surprised than angered. At least until she caught sight of her zoid behind him, which upon she glared at him again. "But that doesn't stop me from being mad at you."

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I hope it wasn't too bad. Please don't forget to review! 


	2. Chapter 2

Schala: Erm...well, my disclaimer is in the first chapter. Enjoy and please please please review. :(

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"So you're here to help investigate the bandits?" asked Lauren as she sipped from a cup of coffee. Thomas also had a cup, glad that for once he didn't have to worry about salt being slipped into the brew. He nodded as he looked around. Her home wasn't something he'd expect her to live in. It was quite simple, much unlike what he knew she was used to. "That's good. I was supposed to be on military leave but with this happening, I'm unsure if I'm supposed to go as an officer or just myself. At least now someone from the Guardian Force is here." 

Thomas blinked. Sure, she had gotten over the invasion of her zoid, so she was a lot easier to get along with. "You knew I was in the Guardian Force?" he asked, positive he never said a word about it, never shown her the badge, or anything. She smiled smugly.

"I'm in the military, you hear things. Especially when you speak with Karl," she said taking another gulp of her concoction. It was the one thing she could make without burning it, and that was merely due to the fact that the machine did it for her. Even then, it was a bit more watery than what it should've been. Thomas made a mental note to offer to get the coffee made next time instead.

"Karl knew you were here?" Thomas asked, not sure. After all, his big brother never did mention Lauren at all. He didn't even know she had joined the military. Why was he always the last one to know about these things? He heard her laugh a little at the expression on his face, which he really didn't know what it was that amused her. He most certainly didn't find it amusing at all.

"Yes, he knew. Admittedly, we haven't spoken often, but he mentioned that you were a member of the Guardian Force and how proud he was of what you've done in it," she answered, smiling when she saw his face go a bit red.

"Karl said that? Really?" he asked, his eyes a bit wide. Of course he knew his big brother respected him more since the destruction of the Death Stinger, but he never actually _said_ that he was proud. This was definitely news to the blonde lieutenant. Lauren sipped at her coffee again, probably on purpose to make him wait, it most certainly wasn't outside of her personality. Their relationship was a strange, sibling-like one, though not quite like what he and Karl had. They both shared interest in machinery (Lauren's was more mild than his however), and over the years they more or less encouraged each other in that.

"Yes, he did. Quite readily I might add," she said, then looking at Thomas' headpiece curiously. She had done so earlier when they were coming to her home, but hadn't made mention of it yet. "Thomas, what is that...communicator for?"

Thomas blinked, wondering just where that question came from but lightly touched the portable communicator. "It's to contact Beek, my AI. It's meant to be better than an organoid," he began, then started to explain the various technical statistics of it for her. Admittedly, it was a bit over Lauren's head, but she felt as though she should at least try to understand it, or give him the attention that his explanation deserved.

"So you speak to it even, and it answers you? What does it sound like?" the blue haired woman asked after Thomas had pretty much expended his explanation. The slightly older man was practically glowing with pride by the end of his talk, as he didn't get to explain it often without that person getting bored with it or giving him a hopelessly confused stare. He could tell that she hadn't quite understood everything, but he didn't expect her to.

"Yeah, Beek is capable of conversation," he finally answered, not sure where she was going with this. Surely she wasn't thinking of speaking with the AI of all things...was she?

"Could I see the headpiece? I'm curious," she asked with a slight grin. If Thomas wasn't sitting, he probably would've hit the floor. He couldn't believe that she wanted to just talk to something with artificial intelligence.

"S-sure, though I'm not really sure why you would want to..." the blonde answered, pulling the headpiece from his cranium and handing the contraption to her. He watched her as she put the headpiece on as he had just moments earlier and speak into it. The look on her face caused him to look on in something that was either horror or serious disbelief.

"Oh, its voice is soo cute, Thomas!" she exclaimed, speaking more into the system. He could have sworn that stars were shining in her fuchsia eyes as she giggled and fawned over it. "I can't believe you haven't been swarmed with girls by now with this!"

Thomas wasn't sure if she was insulting his luck with women or complimenting his skills with machinery. For all he knew, she was doing both. His train of thought was broken by a giggle of delight, apparently Lauren said something else to Beek and she just got the reply. "Could I have my communicator back now? I have questions I need to ask you," he requested with his hand out. Lauren frowned, but begrudgingly handed the communicator back, allowing Thomas to replace the communicator on the side of his head. "Thanks. Now, what's with that zoid outside?"

"Oh, you mean Night Striker? That's my zoid. I made it," Lauren answered. Thomas just stared at her.

"You honestly made it by yourself?" he asked, not sure if she really had the skill to do that on her own. The technology looked state of the art after all. Her frown deepened.

"I had a lot of help. I had the designs for Hel cats, and there was some machinery in my mom's old ruins that greatly helped in building it, but I was alone when I made it. It's a stealth zoid," she replied, sipping from her coffee again. Thomas just kept staring at her. "The parts came from the wreckage of my parents' ligers. Aiden came around long enough to repair most of the parts, and parts of the two cores before leaving."

Aiden was Joara's organoid. In a way, the fact that Lauren went with a stealth zoid didn't surprise him. Aiden was capable of radar and optical stealth after all. He wondered if Aiden had stuck around her, but after a moment he decided against that. After all, they were alone in the room...right? "Has he ever decided that you were worthy of him staying around you?" Thomas inquired.

Lauren's eyes lost the happy spark that they held while she had spoken with Beek moments before, and while he was a bit freaked out by her behavior, this was much worse. He had his answer before she even spoke. "No, he's stayed away for nearly the entire time," she answered, her head hung slightly in shame. "I don't know what to do to earn his respect, if I even can."

Thomas in turn gave her a smile of encouragement. "Of course you can! And you will," he said, doing what he could think of to cheer her up. The somber look went away from her face, at least for the moment. "In any case, what do you know about the bandits, Lauren?"

She blinked, and thought for a moment. "Actually...not much. I haven't been here long myself. I just know that they've attacked twice in the outer fields. I'm thinking that they may think that there is something in the ruins. ...Which, I know for a fact there isn't much left, aside from what I've put in there. ...What do you know about the situation?"

Thomas immediately became serious, going into his own version of soldier mode. It was different from the normal, goofy presence he had. It was also a vast improvement in Lauren's opinion and she understood a bit more of the pride Karl had in his little brother. It wasn't that she doubted his ability as a soldier, it was just the confidence Thomas was showing truly caught her off guard. Was he really the same person she remembered from nearly a decade ago? "From what I was told, the villagers' accounts lead to the use of helcats. The bandits objectives are unclear at the moment, and Karl said that he wanted them taken into custody if at all possible for questioning."

It was why he was chosen for this mission. After all, Beek had the sound data on them. He figured that Van would've been called out, but maybe it was due to Lauren's presence that the hero hadn't? "So that's why they let me have this leave..." Lauren mused. "I'm an expert in stealth technology. Or well, the closest thing I can be an expert of."

"What do you know about the weaknesses of stealth?" Thomas asked, trying to keep on topic with that. If she really was an expert, or close to it, then she would probably know a good bit more than him. Stealth never was an area of interest for him after all. Lauren thought for a moment, probably gathering her thoughts, before answering.

"When it comes to stealth technology in zoids, there is a particular, visible distortion due to its movement, and therefore can be picked out. When someone has been working with developing stealth technology and trained their eyes to pick out flaws to correct, it's easier to find a cloaked zoid as well. Also, with older or more amateur stealth technology, the top of a zoid can give off a slight glare from the sun. However, with any case as of yet, it's still a problem with tracks left by the zoids, even if there is only a slight trace. Plus, there is a frequency that machines can pick up from a moving, cloaked zoid. Though, it is possible for a stealth zoid to use that to their advantage as well though. By using different frequencies and jamming devices, the equipment's readings can be negated. I have a theory that other certain frequencies by the zoid can be sent out and act as decoy signals to the equipment so it gives out false data, though I haven't figured out how to accomplish it yet," she answered, hoping he caught onto her full explanation. She wasn't disappointed.

"I have data on the acoustics of helcats, or I should say Beek does," he said, nodding to confirm at least the traceable frequencies. Lauren opened her mouth to say something, but there was a knock at her door. She sighed.

"Excuse me for a moment, Thomas," she said standing up. The young lady went over to the door and cracked her door open a little, looking a bit apprehensive. Thomas figured that she was worried that it was a trick of a bandit. However, by the way she relaxed, it was a villager. He watched her move back and let a young man in that was probably a couple of years older then Thomas. His hair was a dark brown, almost black, with blue eyes. She giggled at something the visitor had apparently said and looked over at Thomas. "This is Andrew Collins, he was a survivor from the attack. Collins, this is Lt. Thomas Richard Schubaltz."

Meanwhile, in a grouping of tents, the bandit's leader was sitting at a folding table, looking at a communicator. All in all, he was quite handsome with his silverish hair and gray eyes. Though, there was a smirk on his face as he looked at the screen, his voice sounding throughout the tent. "Oh come on, Terra, quit being so uptight. You really do need to get drunk again, you're much more fun then." He chuckled at the furious look that came upon the image of his distant cousin's face.

"Daniel, just do your job," the woman replied simply. If she said another thing, she probably would have blown. Her patience with him had worn thin. Though, the communicator that she had was taken from her hand and Daniel next saw the image of a man wearing a bandana over his right eye.

"Be sure you stay sober at least long enough to get the job done," the guy said, then handing it back to Terra, who promptly ended the connection. The man sighed, they didn't trust him at all, it was obvious to him even. Oh well, he could prove all of them wrong.

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Yes, I've had a portion of this pre-written, so I can update quickly. Though, I only have enough for one or two more chapters currently.  



	3. Chapter 3

I'm glad that people are indeed enjoying this story, at least a little. Though, the next update probably will be a bit yet, as I have finals on Friday, and I have some observation hours to complete before then. Not to mention I only have a page at most beyond this chapter so far.I still have a couple of pages before I update my Rokai story too. Anyways, please enjoy, and review.

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Thomas and Lauren had decided to eat out, which wasn't too hard of a decision. After all, anything Lauren could make more than likely wouldn't be very palatable and Thomas wasn't the best cook either. So, neither argued about going out, and since Thomas didn't know anywhere to go, he didn't object to the place that Lauren suggested. It was a pretty good place really. Of course, it wasn't very busy with the town being so small, but it appeared to have enough money to keep running. Once they got their orders in, Lauren looked over at Thomas. "I'm paying for this one," she said with a smile. When Thomas opened his mouth to protest she shook her head. "If I could cook, I would have made something at home. But I can't, and this is the only way I can play hostess. Besides, they give me discounts." 

Thomas looked at her suspiciously. "Discounts? What for?" The suspicion was more of a serious type of look, intended to intimidate her for once. However, it failed miserably. The intended serious expression that he had attempted merely succeeded in making her laugh. He sighed. Couldn't he ever _not_ be laughed at? Sure, it was one thing when he acted like an idiot (and he even admit he deserved some of what he got), but when he did act serious it was a very different matter. It wasn't fair!

"I gave up money to help rebuild the village, so it's their way of repaying me. ...It was the only way I'd let them," she said, a bit embarrassed. Her pride was probably her greatest weakness in life. Thomas remembered that when they were little, she had tried to run away because she didn't want to have people outside of her family taking care of her. However, due to Aiden, she didn't get very far at all and stayed of course. The panther organoid, while a rare sight, did prove time and again to be a reliable source of help.

"I see," Thomas commented, thinking for a moment. "How did you raise the money?"

Lauren laughed. "After I made my zoid, my money was drained, so I became a mercenary for a few years. I was going to just do it a year or two, but with the village's reconstruction, I ended up having to stick with it a bit longer." Thomas just stared at her, in disbelief that she would even consider being a merc. "I only protected villages, it wasn't anything illegal or something to that extent."

The blonde nodded in response to the information, accepting that as a viable explanation. It was just in time for their food to arrive. Once the waiter had gone, Thomas picked at his food for a moment. "Lauren, do you have a plan on how to approach those bandits?" he asked, finally taking a bite out of his meal.

The blue-haired woman swallowed her own mouthful before answering. "I was actually hoping that the guardian force member dispatched here would've had one all ready," she answered with a grin. "I guess I was hoping beyond hope."

"H-hey! I didn't know what the status of the town was, or how the ruins had changed after being ransacked before. How could I develop a plan all ready?" Thomas defended himself, even though he knew that she was teasing him. Even so, dinner ended in silence from both of them, brainstorming ideas on how to approach the enemy with so little information. And it continued until they went to their zoids afterwards, to just check up on things. Not to mention, Thomas really did want to have another look at Lauren's zoid. Maybe she could deactivate the scanner and let him look around? He noticed that she was staring at her zoid, a slightly long expression on her face. It was one he knew well from his own expressions, doubt.

"Thomas?" Lauren began, taking a deep breath. It wasn't the usual joking tone that she typically used around him. Once he caught her eye to show that he was listening to her, she continued after a moment's hesitation. "Do you think that I did the right thing, by joining the military? I...keep wondering if I should have just stayed out of it. I'm not that great of a soldier, or nothing like what my father was."

Thomas blinked. He understood the doubt she felt concerning joining the military. Ever since Terkh was first destroyed, he knew that Lauren had a great fear of being betrayed by the military. Apparently, even though they both knew it was Prozen, and not the emperor's will, it wasn't enough for her paranoia to go away fully. "I think you did the right thing. You've come really far in conquering your own fears concerning the military," he answered honestly. He himself had come far in his own abilities, and from what he had seen so far, he felt that she had too. Of course, he would have to actually see her in a zoid battle first (if he could) to confirm everything, but he was fairly certain.

The blonde lieutenant watched the young woman's reaction to his brief pep-talk, and felt rather satisfied. Of course Lauren wasn't in top form when it came to attitude, but it was an improvement. For her to help him with the bandit problem, that was all he would need.

The next day brought action to the plan they came up with. Which, it was fairly simple. Use radar to find any strange acoustic signals and investigate. If the signals that they find, and with Beek on their side Thomas knew they would if there was any to be found at all, weren't the ones they were looking for, they would keep trying to look for other signals. There wasn't reason to come up with an elaborate plan. After all, they were just dealing with a group of bandits. It was nearly routine for Thomas anymore, even with the stealth zoids, and he hoped to keep any surprises from occurring.

Though, there was a minor change that Thomas made to the plan without Lauren's knowledge. He would leave five hours earlier than planned and finish things on his own. He didn't really want Lauren involved in this, the gentleman in him wouldn't allow it. The lieutenant had gotten used to Fiona being in some amount of danger, and Van's tendency to allow it, even if Thomas still didn't feel that he should. Though, Lauren was the sister he never had, and aside from being a rank higher, he was also a year older. So he felt it was his responsibility to watch out for her. He knew she wouldn't like it, nor would she listen if he told her to stay back. So, this was the best way. Hopefully he acted excited enough to fool her into thinking that they were going to work together, and therefore not expect a thing.

Currently, he had just gotten into his Dibison, watching the zoid 'wake up.' Then he felt his helmet come down onto his head, with Beek's voice sounding in his ears. "Yes, Beek, we're going alone. We can easily handle something like this by ourselves. Now scan the area around the town and around the ruins."

It took a few minutes, but considering the area he was having Beek search, Thomas expected that. Once the data went through, five different areas lit up on his radar. They were five separate areas to investigate, and he randomly chose one for Beek to go towards. "Okay, baby, you're toast," he said, mainly to himself. He hoped this would be the right one, he didn't feel like he needed to waste his time going on a wild goose chase as it would only give Lauren more time to get up and realize what it was he did. The Dibison was going as fast as it could go, but he felt as though it wasn't fast enough. No, he didn't dislike his zoid, the truth was the very opposite. He was _proud_ of that zoid, and he wouldn't trade it for the fastest one around. Beek to him was irreplaceable, and after all the abuse his poor zoid had gone through over time, it really did deserve respect.

Once he got to his intended destination, he unfortunately found no sign of a bandit group, or even a single zoid. Which, didn't make sense to Thomas at all. The readings on his radar still put the same signals, and he was right over it. What was going on? Was the zoid beneath the sand? _Something_ had to be giving off those readings, it couldn't just be from nowhere, and he was determined to find out what. "Beek, search the area for what's giving off that zoid acoustic signal and go over to it," he ordered the artificial intelligence unit. It was merely a matter of moments before Beek made the Dibison stop in its tracks, and gave a whistling beep that it was the place. Thomas had the screen zoom in on the specific area that Beek had picked out and frowned as he saw some sort of device. A quick analysis shown that the device had been giving off the signal. Though, what came to his mind next was a dreadful thought. What if all of those readings he picked up were merely other devices? He had to investigate them, because what if he was wrong? He wouldn't be able to forgive himself as a member of the Guardian Force, nor as a human being.

Though, if they were all devices, they were obviously for a distraction. The question was if they were distracting him from the correct place, or if they were distracting him to keep him off track to a different intention? He was soon so wrapped up in his analytical thinking that he didn't hear the sound of a transmission coming to his zoid, until he blinked. Even then, he stared a bit dumbly at the controls until it registered that he was getting a message, and pushed a button to accept it. What he heard next made him wince.

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Sorry about the cliffhanger, you'll just have to see next time. 


	4. Chapter 4

Well, finally, we're getting a little action. Enjoy.

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"Don't make me fire at you to make sure you're still alive!" 

Though, once the speaker noticed that Thomas' face was undoubtedly on the screen and had in fact taken the transmission, the speaker's face became as red as a tomato. "Oh um, sorry about that, Thomas," Lauren said, still blushing profusely, especially when she saw the expression on his face.

"Lauren, what are you doing out here all ready?" inquired Thomas. It was still too early for her to have gotten up, let alone leave Terkh. The look on her face once the young woman composed herself gave him his answer. "Oh. Right." It wasn't the first time that he had been told that his attitude and thinking were as transparent as glass. He had hoped that he had kept it hidden, but apparently it wasn't enough even then.

"Thomas. Look, you may be a member of the Guardian Force, but I've gone through the same training you have. I actually went through more field work than you did when you went into the academy. For you to just leave me behind like a defenseless child is insulting," she said, sounding genuinely upset.

"Well...umm...sorry, Lauren," Thomas said in response. He didn't think of it like that at all, and really, he felt quite embarrassed for a moment. But then he thought of something. "Where is your zoid?"

"Right beside you," she replied, sounding much more cheerful. Her zoid then lost its optical stealth so she could show just where she was on his cameras. Of course though, his radar still didn't pick up on it. "So you found that device, right? We should split up and cover more ground that way. ...Though, you'll need to give me what areas you found," Lauren stated, sounding a bit sheepish at the end.

Thomas shook his head. "I don't agree with that, Lauren. It could be a trap, and it's best if we're together," he answered to her idea. The blonde lieutenant knew that she wasn't thrilled with the idea, but he also knew that she would listen to him as long as it meant she was staying. He was a superior officer after all, and he could say it was an order. Unlike Van, who never listened to protocol (and to Thomas' dismay early on, such a display was always ignored), Lauren more than likely would listen for merely that reason. Her silence shown that she was mulling it over.

"...All right. I'll be right next to you," she said with a sigh. Her zoid's optical stealth then flared back to life and she disappeared from sight. "You just won't see me is all."

Thomas nodded, and cut off the transmission, heading for another one of the areas of interest he had earlier found. He wasn't sure if they would indeed find anything at all, but the chance that something was correct made him feel it was worth going. If he could get Lauren to go back, he would've done so. However, he had a feeling that it wouldn't be an easy task at all, and it was probably just best to let her stay along on the trip. At least as long as she told him where she was, she wouldn't get into trouble without him knowing it.

To Thomas' dismay, upon reaching each point proved that there was yet another device. It was starting to make him apprehensive, as he began to get a feeling of foreboding about this. After all, this was starting to appear to be more than his typical time of fighting bandits. Not often did they pull a fast one on Thomas Richard Schubaltz, and he was determined to not let this one go by either. As they neared the final point, he noticed that in the distance there were a couple of blotches on the horizon. "Beek, magnify those outlines," Thomas ordered. He was, by then, completely into soldier mode and rather frustrated with this situation. The magnified imaged came up on the screen, revealing a few tents that had been pitched, and a couple of unmoving Hel Cats. Immediately, his hand went to the communication controls of his Dibison, opening a channel to Lauren's zoid. "We finally found them," was all he said. Now, he wanted to tell her to leave, perhaps even give her the trivial order of going back to the village to check on it but he knew that she wouldn't fall for that.

"I know," was Lauren's response, obviously just to let him know she was still around.

They continued a bit closer, until Thomas found that the bandits were in range of his Dibison's cannons. So, he halted and asked Beek to lock onto the unused Hel Cats. He wasn't sure if any others were around, as it was a rather small number of zoids, maybe around ten. However, he had no reason to believe that there were any others currently. "Lauren, can you see any cloaked zoids?" he asked.

"No, but that doesn't mean anything. They have to move for me to see them, and that's if I have any chance of seeing them at all," she responded, her eyes not watching the communication screen. Instead, she was trying to concentrate more on looking for said stealth zoids. "So you're going to attack them from here?"

"That seems to be the best option," answered Thomas, watching as Beek was aiming the Dibison's cannons for the bandit zoids. "The Dibison has a wide attack range, so I can easily hit them from here with its cannons." Finally, the cannons had locked onto the targets, and Thomas gave Beek the go head to fire at the Hel Cats. He smirked as the shots hit their targets, one by one.

"What firepower..." Lauren commented, a tinge of awe in her voice. Thomas smirked, knowing that he had approximately the firepower of three zoids, in his one Dibison. It felt nice to impress her for once, her eyes were even wider. However, it wasn't for what he had thought. "Thomas, I count three Hel Cats in stealth mode. Possibly more."

It was with that revelation that his Dibison took a few hits, making the blonde lieutenant growl in frustration. "Beek, determine the Hel Cat's positions," he ordered, firing his triple cannons in the direction in which the shots had come from. Of course, that stealth zoid had left by that point, but he didn't want them to know that he could easily find them once Beek finished. A whistling beep from Beek heralded the readiness of the system as it went to bring up the approximate positions. Lauren was wrong, there was a number of six Hel Cats. Thankfully, his system had also recorded Night Striker's acoustics while they had traveled, and Beek had put her zoid into the equation. That explained the excess time spent on data reading. The other zoid's acoustics were different from Hel Cats, so he could pick Lauren out easily enough and not fire at her.

Lauren, in the meantime, had been using what was the standard chest cannons of a Shield Liger to fire at a Hel Cat that she had spotted. It took a couple of tries, but it did go down. She hoped that the bandits had no idea that the fellow stealth zoid that was firing at them wasn't another Hel Cat, at least not until she go close. However, she obviously didn't have the weaponry on her zoid's back that was typical of the Hel Cat. Instead, she had her wings. They were actually rather stiff mechanizations, unable to keep her in flight, but she had made it to where small boosters were on the back tips of the said wings. They also doubled as a close range weapon, similar to a Blade Liger's blades in intention, but nothing alive in design. Either way, she finally caught up to the Hel Cat, and sighed as her wing blades went right through the opposing zoid.

That was how it ended. Both of them had taken out three, though Thomas didn't count the ones he had shot initially that weren't in use. "Thomas, do you think that there are any other bandits left in the camp?" Lauren asked, obviously giving him a next step, in a semi-subtle manner.

"I think that there should be. Unless those other zoids were just extras in case their initial zoids were taken down or the last of the bandits had bailed while we fought the other zoids," he answered, having Beek scan for any life from the camp. Aside from the decoy devices, these bandits seemed to be pretty run-of-the-mill overall. Confirmation from Beek told him that there wasn't any other sign of human or zoid life. "Looks like we did it."

A sigh of relief escaped from Lauren's lips. "Thank goodness," she said, letting her stealth shut down. They then turned and started back for Terkh. "Hey, Thomas? You've become a great pilot."

The said man blinked. Did he hear her right? That was when he thought he'd better say something in return. "Thanks. I'm a member of the Guardian Force after all," he replied, giving one of his embellished laughs. Seeing the look of disapproval on her face caused him to rethink that statement. Of course, he couldn't go back, only forward. "You were good yourself. If you hadn't been around, I wouldn't have known that there were other Hel Cats until after they attacked. Again, thanks, Lauren."

A genuine smile lit up her face. "Karl was right about you. You've become a lot more mature since I last saw you," she stated. "When we get back, do you want to eat out again before you write up any reports?"

"I would like that," Thomas answered. He liked his job in the military, even more so after he become a member of the Guardian Force. However, like many other people in the world, he still hated the paperwork that went with missions like this and anything to delay it sounded rather good. It was after that last statement that they stayed silent for the remainder of the trip back, each in their own world of what should be done next. Once they got to the entrance to Terkh, Lauren and Thomas exited their zoids and started back for town. At least until Lauren stopped.

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Cliff hanger, haha! Did you really think that it would be that easy for them? X3 Don't forget to review! 


	5. Chapter 5

Schala: Arg...the divider line isn't with me today for some reason so I apologize for the lack of space between the note/disclaimer and the story itself. I don't own Zoids, just my characters. Ah well. I'm glad that people seem to like this story, considering the hits. But I'd probably work faster if people reviewed more often. So please review. X3

"What's wrong?" asked Thomas, blinking. He looked ahead again and thought for a moment, and by the time she answered, he felt he understood.

"No one is in the streets," she said, giving both a very bad feeling. Thomas hadn't been there too long, but he knew that general hustle and bustle in Terkh, even if small, was still commonplace. The fact that no one was out walking left an uneasy silence. Lauren quickly went back to her zoid to pull out her gun and a few smoke bombs while Thomas went to get his mobile unit.

"Beek, scan the area for any human life," Thomas ordered as he walked for his Dibison, then promptly winced at the static that emanated into his ear. What on Zi could be...didn't it just work fine a little bit ago? It wasn't a surprise when he got into his zoid as quickly as he could. Everything seemed to be all right... "Okay, Beek, scan the area for any human life," he repeated. Being inside his zoid, he didn't have to rely on the headpiece to communicate with his AI. It was after a couple of minutes that Beek responded, saying that it couldn't check properly. Warning bells went off in Thomas' mind, jamming equipment had be a part of this. Which would mean that radar and more than likely all of his scanning technology would be useless until they found the cause of it. It also seemed to mean that his headpiece and mobile AI would be useless, except in the case that he could use the mobile AI as a gun. So, he took out the mobile AI unit, and left the headpiece on. After all, once they could get rid of the jamming equipment, he would be able to use it again. With a frown, he again jumped down from his zoid, to see Lauren standing nearby.

"Something else happen?" she asked, easily reading his frustration. It couldn't just be the disappearance of the villagers, even if that was indeed frustrating. Thomas' frown deepened.

"My equipment is being jammed so something is definitely going on, Lauren. ...I think it may be best if you stay here and watch over the zoids," he answered, getting an icy glare in return for his last statement. "Lauren, someone has to stay out here to be ready to get out of range of the jamming to get help if I can't do this."

"So if something happens to you, how am I supposed to know if I'm not around? And you honestly don't expect me to just stand here when this is my home? Thomas, let me go with," she said, her last words reminding him that he was in fact a superior officer.

"No, you stay here and that's an order. I'm a member of the Guardian Force, I can handle this on my own," the blonde lieutenant stated, trying to sound as stern as he possibly could. Though, there was something else that came to mind. What if he left her alone and she ended up disappearing like the others? Great, his so-called best friend - Doubt. However, he remembered something Van and Fiona talked about, their first time meeting Rhyss. The entire town seemed to disappear, and Van could have ended up hurting Fiona. Of course at the time, Thomas was much more concerned about Fiona's safety and had berated Van for being so careless. Was he making the same mistake by telling her to stay put? He sighed. "All right, all right, you can come with. But just remember that I'm the superior officer here."

Lauren nodded, looking a bit relieved. Even if she wouldn't admit it, being alone under these circumstances was a bit frightening. Although the only other person around was Thomas, it was someone she knew well. "Then, let's go. If the villagers were rounded up and put in one of the buildings, only the church and the building where meetings take place are big enough to hold everyone. Of course, that's assuming that everyone is missing."

By the time Lauren was done speaking, she was a bit dismayed to find that Thomas was peeking through the nearest window, and due to the distance, probably heard maybe a few words. Honestly, how could he ask for respect and people to listen to him when he didn't do the same? So, she walked over to him in time to see Thomas turn around with a perplexed look on his face. "No one seemed to be inside. Where did you say that they could be?" he asked, getting a slightly irritated look from the blue-haired woman.

"Either the church, or the building for meetings," she answered, going over to another house cautiously. Once she peered into the window, a sad look came upon her face. The kitchen table still had soup for lunch on it. She could tell it was still warm from there because there was a little steam. So, it couldn't have been more than perhaps ten to fifteen minutes ago that this home had been evacuated. Thomas, meanwhile, was looking around, knowing where both buildings his friend had mentioned were. And, wouldn't jamming equipment get stronger as you got closer to it? It seemed to make sense to him.

He blinked, also realizing that would mean that the static he heard outside of town would only get louder and hurt his ear more. Which, he didn't really like the idea of listening to static. However, this was more important than personal preferences, and perhaps finding the device would lead them to the others? After all, what if those villagers were being harmed or killed even? Hesitantly, Thomas listened as best as he could and tried looking around to see which direction sharpened. A particular bout of static made him visibly wince and he quickly cut off the communications again, noting that the noise was strongest in the direction of the church. It was by then that he noticed Lauren had come back over to him and was curiously looking at him and apparently wondering just what he was up to.

"I'm positive that the jamming is originating from the church. It's probably also where the villagers are," Thomas answered, hoping that Lauren would catch onto what he was doing a few moments again. He wasn't disappointed, seeing a lightbulb going off in her eyes. "We should be careful still though. We don't know if there are any bandits or other people around."

With that said, the two went to the church building, trying to be as alert as they could possibly be. Which, may or may not have said much, but they did reach the building doors without spotting a single soul. It really creeped out Lauren, she wasn't used to this place being so quiet, and even the church seemed a bit ominous. Would they disappear too? Not seeing a guard or anything of the sort, she stayed up at the door, pressing her ear to it to listen as Thomas went to the side of the building. Probably to look inside the building from a side window. After a couple of moments, her hand lightly brushed the metal doorknob, contemplating opening it. She didn't hear anyone after all.

"Lauren, don't open the door!" shouted Thomas, running around the corner to the front again. Once he got over to her, he stared as he noticed her deep breathing. "Umm..."

"You scared me half to death," she whined, then blinked. "Why did you tell me to not open the door anyways? No one is inside right?" The look on Thomas' face said that there was indeed something wrong. Though what that thing was escaped her.

"When I went to look through the window, I saw the jamming device in the middle of the floor. If it wasn't for the fact that not even a guard was around, I don't think I would have looked more closely around the room. You know what I saw? There was a sensor connected to the door, Lauren. If you opened it, it would have set off a nearby bomb," he explained, noting that the realization wasn't something she took lightly. In fact, his friend's eyes were almost as large as saucers. Perhaps he stated that too bluntly? Well, by that time Thomas figured that being scared would do Lauren some good.

It took a few moments for the said woman to compose herself to a coherent level. "S-so then, they're probably in the meeting house?"she stated, probably more to further collect her thoughts than to give him ideas. Thomas nodded to confirm her statement, and she took a deep breath. "Then...let's go and take care of this."

They began to walk for the other building, and as they did, Thomas began to wonder if it was possible that perhaps the villagers had been taken out of the town. Which, in his opinion it could be quite likely but only if there was a zoid or something that could transport close to fifty people. Obviously, a few zoids wouldn't be enough unless it was a Gustav with a trailer. And if no one was in the other building, that would be their next course of action - looking for tracks. Though, Thomas felt that they were indeed on the right track. Even from here he could see a couple of guards by the door. The attire suggested bandits, definitely not military. The blonde lieutenant looked over at the blue haired subordinate. "Lauren, I'm going to check the situation. You stay here and make sure my exit stays clear," he said, thinking that he had a good idea to keep her out of the building.

To Thomas' relief, she didn't argue. So he went as quietly as he could to the building and managed to avoid the guards, not that there were many. And apparently, they weren't really expecting anyone yet. Which, he thought that wasn't too abnormal as it was rather early for them to be discovered from the outside. It was with that thought that he snuck inside.


	6. Chapter 6

Schala: Sorry for the lack of updates, classes have been keeping me busy especially as of late and lack of motivation hasn't helped. But, here is the next chapter finally! _  
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_Think like a cat. Think like a cat. Think like a cat_, Thomas mentally repeated as he made his way throughout the building. Of course, he didn't expect to suddenly gain cat-like reflexes, it was merely just a way to try to get him to work better. And apparently, it didn't work too well as his free hand hit one of the doorways as he snuck through. Luckily for him, no one was currently around to hear him try not to curse through his teeth. Though, once he composed himself, he swore he heard voices further down, maybe some crying. _Those must be the villagers._

It was strange, where was the security like what he saw outside? Or were they all simply in the same room? Ah, he saw a large opening in the wall not too far down, and it seemed to be the entrance for the main meeting room. Also, the voices he heard before were getting louder, so he felt that he was right. Again, no one was waiting at the entrance, which further confused him. What could be so horrible that they didn't need guards? Was it something like what Reese had done? He pressed his back against the wall and quietly slid closer to the entrance of the meeting room. The blonde lieutenant had to say quiet, in case there were people in there holding them hostage. Which seemed to be a very likely case considering the nature of voices he heard from the room.

_Think, Thomas. You have to figure out how to get in there, and finish this up without them knowing you're there until it's too late._

Plans began to formulate in his mind, until he felt something touch his arm. Cringing, he slowly looked back, and his expression went from fear to something akin to anger as he spotted the blue-haired young woman he had thought he left outside. "Lauren, what are you doing here?" he asked, quietly as he could. However, he was a bit angry and it was extremely hard to whisper. He saw her eyes narrow in response to his anger.

"Well excuse me for being worried. You were taking too long," she answered, also trying to keep a low voice. It didn't phase Thomas too much this time.

"You said you'd _stay_ behind and let _me_ do this," he accused, fully turning to face her. However, once he had turned, he regretted saying anything. Right behind her, three men had walked towards them. They were armed as well, made apparent by the fact that they had them drawn. This would not bode well.

"Put your weapons on the floor," one of the people commanded. Lauren looked up at Thomas since they were facing each other by that point, and was a bit shocked when he knelt down, laying his mobile unit gun on the floor, then proceeded to stand and put his hands up. Lauren reluctantly placed her gun down, and slowly turned around, putting her hands up as well. While that was happening, another man came from the large room to see what the commotion was about.

"So it seems the others weren't able to keep you busy as long as we had thought. Oh well, it's even better this way," he stated gruffly, looking at the two Imperials. "I wouldn't try anything if I were either of you. There are bombs set up all over town, and I have the detonator to set all of them off. So, if you even breathe wrongly, I won't hesitate to activate it." As if to prove that he was telling the truth, the bandit produced a metallic object that could definitely be a detonator. Neither Thomas nor Lauren were very knowledgeable when it came to bombs so they weren't positive.

With that said, the other men directed Lauren and Thomas to the main room. The expressions of the people inside had brightened for only a moment, then dimmed even further. Their only hope was captured now as well. Thomas hated seeing that look on their faces, and looked around to access their situation. There were eight bandits in the room, including the one with the detonator. Their guns were by one of the men, he gauged about fifteen feet from where they were standing. Actually, he wasn't sure why they were still standing, as the villagers were sitting down. Then again, it was probably better that they were standing. The blonde lieutenant looked over at their weapons. If only they were the ones with the advantage...

However, before he could think more, something strange happened. The man holding the detonator, for seemingly no reason at all fell back with a yell. What mainly caught everyone's attention was that the detonator had fallen from his hand and flew through the air for the ground. Thankfully, before it hit the ground, Collins was able to catch it. Notably, the bandits did appear to be quite relieved. But before they could react, another one of the bandits fell down, looking as surprised as his comrades. What was going on?

"Could it..." Lauren began, her eyes looking about the room unsure as well. Thomas wasn't sure what she thought was going on, but he took that moment to make a mad dash for their guns. Even as he picked up the weapons, more of the bandits were knocked down, and out cold. By the time that he and Lauren had their guns again, all eight bandits were unconscious on the floor.

"Okay, I don't get it, but..." Thomas trailed off, scratching the back of his head. Who or whatever it was that knocked out the bandits had saved all of them, and so he was quite short of complaints. He heard one of the villagers gasp, and so the Guardian Force member turned in time to see just what had saved them.

The black shape was rather large, about the size of Zeke, and was in the form of some sort of large cat - perhaps a panther considering the coloring. It seemed to be metallic, but those in the room recognized it as an organoid. No, not just an organoid, but the one that belonged to Joara years ago when she was still alive. "Aiden," Thomas said, a bit surprised as he took a step towards it. It was strange to Thomas that he was the one to move forward, and not Lauren. However, when he looked over at her and saw an expression that seemed to meld shock and childish curiosity together, he decided to not blame her. Instead, he continued to close the distance between the organoid - Aiden - and himself. However, just as he got to the point that he probably could've touched the smooth, ebony metal, Aiden roared, his optical stealth activated once more, and then there wasn't any sign of him at all. No one would be able to tell where the metallic feline went, if he went far at all.

"Does anyone have rope so we can tie these guys up before they wake up?" Lauren asked, a few of the villagers nodding in response. As sure as she sounded, there was something in her expression that said that she was upset from all of this. Or perhaps just because of Aiden's appearance. "Then please go get it. If they wake up, Thomas or I will take of them."

Thomas blinked. Wasn't he the superior officer here? Oh no...he wasn't about to go through this again... "I will take care of this. Actually, I think that I am going to go to deactivate that bomb and get rid of the jamming so we can get people to transport these guys. ...Guess we're finished after that."

"No," said Collins, shaking his head, and making the two military people look over at him. "That's not all of them. The guy that seemed to be in charge took the majority of his group with him to the ruins and left this skeleton crew and the detonator to make sure we didn't do anything they didn't like. So you're not finished yet unless you risk letting them get away. We'll tie the bandits ourselves. We're not helpless."

A few of the other residents nodded in agreement, and as much as Thomas didn't like them risking themselves, he really didn't it would be better to just ignore the presence of the other bandits (especially their leader). Really, it would probably be worth far less to risk letting the leader escape, especially with most his group being at the ruins as well. He sighed. "All right, you guys take care of them, while I go deactivate that bomb so we can call for support, and then I will go to the ruins." A glare from Lauren's direction made him re-think that statement. "Erm...I mean we will go to the ruins." How he hated seeing that look, though it was different from seeing Van and Fiona together. With that said, Thomas walked off for the church while Lauren watched the villagers for a bit before going to their zoids.

Sometime later, Thomas felt much more relieved. He had gotten a hold of his brother, and Karl had mentioned that he not only was he sending people there now, he himself was going to come up there in a few days just in case. So, things were starting to look up for them. All that he and Lauren had to do was to go to the ruins and take care of those other people. He doubted that the other members of that bandit group were gone from there. The ruins were rather large, and if they had a particular aim, Thomas felt it would be a long while before they would find it. However, it would be good to try to get there as soon as they could anyways.

Meanwhile, at the ruins, Daniel and the remaining bandits were busy looking through the halls for particular pictures, with the silver-haired man taking various photos. He had no idea as to what anything meant, but it was partially his job to get some particular information so he was gathering anything that may remotely resemble what he was searching for. Which, he readily admitted, could be anything engraved on these walls. If they missed information they needed, he wouldn't hear the end of it, and he was determined to not be the laughing stock like normal.

"Daniel, we lost contact with our people in Terkh and a scout spotted two zoids heading our way. What do you want us to do?" asked a bandit that came in. She was rather pretty young lady, and he immediately moved right over to her.

"Oh, well, I and the others will go out and take care of them while you my dear...erm...just keep taking photos. You're looking quite lovely today I may add," he said, holding out the camera to her, and the young woman just took the camera. She knew Daniel's game, most of the girls that came anywhere near him did. And like the majority of them, she just flat out gave him the cold shoulder and went about her task. This caused the silverish-haired man to sigh before heading for the others.

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Schala: Hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Please review, so I can my motivation back. 


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: OMG, I am not dead. And I have worked on this for a long while, not that there's much to show for it. Anyways, the disclaimer is in the first chapter. However, there is a new character being introduced this chapter, and that person belongs to a good friend of mine, -Axel Lives-. Thank you so much for the reviews between my last update and this one, they really did help me continue this.

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As the Dibison and stealth zoid caught sight of the ruins, they stopped to analyze the situation and come up with a plan. Thomas hastily gave Beek orders while Lauren allowed her zoid's optical stealth go live again. In the event they were caught and engaged in a battle, it would prove to be an advantage if they thought Thomas' Dibison was the only zoid to oppose them. Other than that, however, Thomas was a bit disappointed with Lauren's silence.

Which that was an odd feeling. Normally he would want silence so he could concentrate solely on the situation before him. After all, if there was even time to argue before Van would jump out and do his 'hero thing,' it proved to be a chore to do his job as thoroughly as he liked. Even if Thomas himself could be a bit brash at times himself, this situation had gotten too serious for him to not realize that he had to carefully plan their next move. One wrong move could cost them everything.

According to his observations, there had to be close to 30 helcats that weren't in use currently. Of course, that did not take in account any that _were_ in use. The blonde lieutenant hoped Lauren was doing her job and trying to help with estimations. And he was willing to bet that there was a group ready. Deciding that he would need an estimation from her, he re-opened a communication's link with the female soldier.

"Lauren, can you spot any zoids in stealth mode?"

The blue haired woman shook her head, her eyes still searching her zoid's screens. "No, not at the moment. It seems that they're far more interested in the ruins than preparing for opposition," was her answer. "I don't think they're expecting company any time soon."

A small amount of relief made its way onto Thomas' face. At least none were patrolling the area actively. It seemed as though they were pretty confident in the men that they left in town with the bombs. That would most likely be their downfall, if he didn't keep on wasting time thinking about it. After all, anyone that has half a brain would keep a certain amount of contact with those that are in their group – especially if they're in a different area. Having gotten near enough to disembark his zoid, Thomas felt his helmet lift from his head. "Lauren, I'm going into the ruins. You know the area better than me, so I'm going to need your help," he stated before getting out of his Dibison.

Once Lauren got out of her zoid, she walked over to Thomas and nodded. "I just hope that they haven't found the hidden areas that I have," she responded. With that said, the two snuck into the ruins fairly easily. The bandits didn't seem to have a good grasp of the area yet, which gave the two more of an advantage. Given he himself had never been inside the ruins, whenever they didn't hear the approaching footsteps of a guard, Thomas spent a good deal of time looking at the walls of the ruins. Of course, much of what was engraved into the walls were characters of the Ancient Zoidian language. Though every then and again, there were pictures of what appeared to be various events, or just of various zoids.

"Lauren, can you read any of your mother's language?" he quietly inquired, trying to be mindful that there were probably other bandits around yet. Really, he probably shouldn't have even tried asking, but the words were out of his mouth before he had time to think any more about it.

The addressed looked back at Thomas, and waited a moment to be sure that no one would hear the conversation before she turned around to face him. Slowly, she shook her head. "No, I can't read any of it. Mother had just barely started teaching me how to speak it when they were attacked, but if I had to do even that I'm not sure I'd have it right. I may have Zoidian blood, but I don't have any of the qualities of them. I'm…pretty useless in that area," she admitted, then turning again to look and get her bearings.

This caused Thomas to feel a pang of guilt. Perhaps his curiosity had brought up something that was better left alone? He decided to shake himself out of his thoughts and concentrate on what it was they were doing exactly. He _was_ the commanding officer here after all, and any good leader had to be on the ball at all times. To Thomas' dismay, while he was getting himself pumped to do this again, Lauren stopped suddenly. This caused the unfortunate event of Thomas knocking into her, and nearly causing her to fall flat on her face.

Normally, this would cause Lauren to turn around and shout at the offending person, but the something that caught her eye before this made her just feel more nervous. Only approximately twenty five feet from them was a man kneeling on one knee, taking pictures of the wall.

The room was a fairly large one with various columns and only a couple of windows for light, which was enough to get around and possibly view the pictures, but in Thomas' opinion, the room still gave an eerie aura. The two Imperials looked at each other before slowly making their way into the room, trying to keep as silent as possible. The lack of guards again was strange, given the other rooms they passed tended to have a few people taking pictures and keeping watch.

It didn't take as long as it felt to get right behind the man, and they were glad that they had this opportunity to get him - and perhaps get some answers as to what they wanted with the ruins. The two looked at each other and nodded. Then, just as they were about to tackle him, the other man quickly stood up and whipped around.

"Smile!" he proclaimed as a bright light flashed right in front of their faces. In the dimly lit room, it made it even worse. Beyond the obvious reaction to covering their faces to save their poor eyes, they were more or less immobilized for the moment. Such a moment in which the older man wasn't about to let go to waste.

The man's camera flash also served as a signal to a group of the bandits to come out from their hiding places behind the columns in the room. The two Imperials could struggle, but they were still seeing spots from the flash and ended up being dragged over a column and tied to it.

As sight returned to Thomas' eyes, he counted about seven people in the room. One had the mobile Beek unit and was currently handing it to the man that they saw before with a camera. Obviously, this man was their leader. "Who are you and what do you want in these ruins!?" 

demanded Thomas. Though, he was a bit more concerned about what their leader was planning on doing with his Beek unit.

The man looked up from the weapon. "How about I ask you something instead, such as, did you really think that we would be so stupid as to not notice something had happened to the men I had left in Terkh? Or that we didn't spot your clunky Dibison?" he retorted, letting the weapon drop to the floor. "Check them over for any other weapons."

Thomas was too preoccupied with Beek to notice some of the bandits were whispering, shaking their heads, or even rolling their eyes at their leader. Two walked over to check Lauren and himself for anything that could be used against him, while a few more people came into the room.

Lauren looked over at Thomas, not sure what to do in this situation. It wouldn't be easy to get out of it as it stayed now… And they obviously couldn't decide on what to do with the others right there to listen to every word either. The guy's voice caught her attention.

"So, Beautiful, why don't you tell me if you have any reinforcements coming?" Daniel asked Lauren, a cheesy grin plastered on his face. It made her feel sick seeing it, and decided to ignore the question entirely.

Thomas, on the other hand, noticed that any other females in the room rolled their eyes at the leader's actions. He then blinked when he heard one of them speak up.

"Daniel, you're hopeless. You know that? You may be our temporary leader, but here you are, flirting with every woman in the vicinity. You're even flirting with the enemy! Terra was right about you…"

The silver-haired man stepped back, a hand pressed to his heart. "Why Sandra, I'm hurt! I'm not flirting with her at all," he said, then grinning.

All of this however was interrupted by yet another person entering the room. "Daniel, you should go to your zoid. Terra wants to speak with you. Right now."

Daniel sighed loudly, his fun was once again being ruined by his high-strung cousin. Looking over at Thomas and Lauren gave him a way to vent his emotions into a glare. "I'll be back soon. Get comfortable though, because you're going to be there for a while." With that, the older man walked briskly away from the room.

Some of the people in the room walked out, but some stayed to watch over the two prisoners. Others stayed just to gossip quietly about what could be going on.

Thomas decided to look at Lauren, his eyebrow raised. "This is ridiculous. I'm not even sure how we managed to fall for their trap," he muttered loud enough for his companion to hear. He felt better when he saw her nod in agreement. They should be able to easily get out of this. 

The people they were dealing with seemed fairly incompetent. It was a mockery to the Guardian Force that they were caught so effortlessly!

Meanwhile, outside at a Redler, Daniel had climbed into the cockpit to see that the message line had already been answered. A bored Terra was waiting for him to get there. "Daniel, we decided that you and your people are to pull out."

"What!? Why!?"

Hadn't he done just as they asked? Hadn't Daniel gotten into the ruins? Countless pictures had been taken, and they wanted him to abort it all?

"You heard me," Terra replied calmly. "We found that the ruins you're at were the wrong ones. Our wonderful leader had accidentally pointed to the wrong location during your briefing and we just realized his mistake. You can tell the others that we found a better lead if it makes you feel better."

Daniel placed his hand on his forehead, rubbing his temples. "I have an Imperial officer and a Guardian Force member under captivity. What do you think I should do about them?"

"Just leave them. Don't give any indication of where you're going next, just say you're leaving," she answered, messing a bit with her braid.

"Fine. I'll do that," he grumbled, then cutting off the connection abruptly. Once the screen went blank, a low sigh left his lips. He doubted that this would go over well.

It took a little bit for him to go back into the room, but once he did, he cleared his throat. "Everyone, follow me. I need to say something important, new orders." With that, he walked into the next room and waited for the rest of his team to follow.

Thomas and Lauren couldn't hear what was said, and could only look at each other and wonder just what the heck was going on. The elder of the two swore he could hear disappointed voices and even an angry outcry or two. Though why, he didn't know. As a few people came back to get a camera or some sort of equipment, they could only watch in silence.

After the people left, there was complete silence.

"Thomas?" Lauren began after an unknown amount of time. "You don't think that…they left us here, do you?"

"I don't know."

As time wore on, it was becoming more and more apparent that they had indeed been abandoned. It was almost pitch black in the room, which meant it was either twilight, or it was already night and the moons kept a tiny bit of light peeking in. There wouldn't be any help yet, the villagers wouldn't get worried until the next morning perhaps.

_I wish someone would get here to untie us. I would even let Van help us out,_ Thomas thought to himself.

While true that he and Van had many, many differences, they usually were able to overcome them for a short enough time to haul either of their asses out of trouble. As much as Thomas hated to admit it, he was indeed alive because of him. The Death Stinger had nearly taken him with it back then…

"Thomas?"

Lauren's voice pulled him back to the present. "Yes?"

"Do you mind if I sleep for a bit?"

"No, not at all. I don't think that we'll be leaving any time tonight," Thomas responded. Moments later, he felt a weight rest on his shoulder. He determined it was Lauren in time to feel her lift her head. Had it been light enough, he would've seen her make an irritated face.

"That armor of yours can't be that comfortable," she commented, then trying to calm her mind down and sleep somehow.

"It's actually not that bad. I've slept with it on more than a couple of times," Thomas answered. After that, things went silent for the two. They simply wished to concentrate on sleeping…

The next morning, Thomas started to stir awake. He could hear someone speaking in a hushed tone, with another responding the same. The first was a female, the other was a male. Choosing to not move his tilted head, he instead listened.

"Are you sure we can't wake them up?" the female voice asked quietly. It seemed familiar to Thomas. Definitely not Lauren's voice though.

"Yes, let them sleep a bit longer," answered the familiar male's voice. A chuckle issued from the man's throat. "They look fairly comfortable like that."

Recognizing the man's voice for sure, Thomas' eyes shot open and lifted his head. Which probably was not a good move given how stiff his neck felt. "Karl!" he exclaimed, quite surprised. His big brother wasn't supposed to be there for another day or so. Let alone having found them in the ruins.

Looking his brother over, Thomas noticed that Karl's posture was more relaxed than usual. This wasn't a social call by any means, and it seemed strange. At least until he finally looked at the woman that was with him. "Artemis? You came too?"

Artemis Abendroth was her full name. An Imperial soldier under Karl's command with spectacles and a short stature. Not that he'd mention the lack of height to her face, he was raised better than that. It was also of note that he was pretty sure that Karl had recently started to date the young lady.

The brunette woman nodded. "We got word from the villagers that you never came back, so we hurried as best as we could. Though it looks like you two are quite well off all considered. I must say, we did have trouble deciding on whether or not to wake you two," she replied.

Karl smirked. "It was a charming picture, if you don't count the ropes."

Thomas finally noticed that Lauren's head had ultimately ended up resting on his shoulder, with his head resting against hers. Actually, with all the talking, he was surprised that she hadn't woken up yet. "Lauren? Lauren, wake up," he said, nudging her a bit.

Karl walked off to the side to find the messy knot that kept the ropes bound, while Artemis watched as Thomas got Lauren to awaken. Beyond that, not much else happened during the timeframe that they were in the ruins. Karl and Artemis would have led the way out, but had sheepishly admitted that they had no idea how to get out. Thus, it was Lauren that got the small group out of the structure and to their zoids.

"Big- err… umm… Colonel, do you have any new orders for us? You haven't even asked us what happened," began Thomas. Blast it! He had gotten so good about referring to his brother by rank up until recently again…

Karl waved his younger brother's inquiry off. "We'll discuss everything once we get back to Terkh."

Somewhat reassured, Thomas glanced over at Lauren, who seemed to be quite awake now. "You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I think some of my muscles were a little stiff before, but that isn't a problem now," she responded with a slight smile to further quell his worries. Each got into their zoids, Karl and Artemis getting into their respective Iron Kong and Zaber Fang, and started the trek back to the small village.

* * *

A/N: Don't forget to review! Thank you for reading!


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